Contents

Personality

Darui is an easy-going and mellow individual as seen when the Fourth Raikage's over-the-top exit through a window, he tells C that he will simply use the door. His personality is also evident through his lazy and languid way of speaking, often times referring to things or events as being "dull" (だるい, darui) — a pun on his name. While having a laid-back demeanour however, Darui isn't lazy, leaping to the Raikage's defence when the bodyguards of the other Kage reacted to the Raikage destroying the desk he was sitting at.[5] Darui is a very apologetic individual, and will even apologise for other people's actions — a trait he stated that he hadn't noticed himself; this attribute leads him to saying "sorry" (すみません, sumimasen) just as much as the word "dull". He also possesses a strong loyalty to the Fourth Raikage whom he often addresses as "boss" (ボス, bosu), rather than adding the suffix "sama" to his title as others do. The Fourth in turn, considers Darui his "second right hand",[4] and because of this, Darui will just as quickly verbally defend the Fourth as he would physically.

Appearance

Darui accompanying the Raikage to the Summit alongside C.

Darui is a fairly tall, dark-skinned man with a slightly bulbous nose, a lazy look in his eyes and shaggy, white hair which covers his left eye. He wears a high-collared, sleeveless uniform with loose fitting pants, bandages on his wrists and the one-strap-over-one-shoulder Flak Jacket of a Kumogakure shinobi. Darui also has stylised characters for water (水) and lightning (雷) tattooed on his right and left shoulders respectively, denoting his chakra's nature affinities, Water Release and Lightning Release, as well as the fact that he has a kekkei genkai, the Storm Release.[6] The tattoo on his left arm also signifies that he has inherited the Third Raikage's black lightning. He carries a broad, foldable, cleaver-like sword, strapped to his back, when outside the village.

Abilities

Darui generating black lightning.

Darui is a highly skilled and capable shinobi. He learned how to create black lightning under the tutelage of the Third Raikage, making his lightning-based techniques even more powerful.[7] His chakra reserves are great enough to not die of chakra exhaustion after using three of the Treasured Tools of the Sage of the Six Paths and still had enough chakra left to continue fighting.[8] His abilities have earned him the praise and recognition of the Fourth Raikage himself, who appointed Darui as his personal bodyguard and considers him his right-hand man. He is also quite smart, as noted by Kinkaku. This was witnessed in his uncovering the mechanisms of the Treasured Tools during his battle with the Gold and Silver Brothers.[4]

Ninjutsu

Kenjutsu

Usually, Darui wields a broad and fairly long sword that is peculiar in comparison to others swords in that it folds in two to be sheathed and unfolds when in use. He has shown exceptional skills in kenjutsu, as he was able to clash with Suigetsu Hōzuki's Kubikiribōchō and easily overwhelm and pin him to a wall with his lightning-imbued sword. He was also skilled enough to literally disarm Ginkaku and Kinkaku during their battle,[9] and knock Ginkaku into Kinkaku's Kōkinjō while quickly seizing the Shichiseiken and Benihisago.[10]

Nature Transformation

Darui using his Storm Release: Laser Circus.

Darui is proficient with water and lightning release techniques, and is able to use two separate techniques of the natures simultaneously. He uses Lightning Release: Wave of Inspiration, together with water release techniques to let electricity flow through the water, making the technique deadlier. He is also able to combine these two separate natures to create the kekkei genkai known as Storm Release which creates beams of light that flow like water and can be freely guided like missiles.

He is also able to use black lightning — a special form of lightning passed down to him by his teacher, the Third Raikage. With the power of the black lightning, he can use techniques such as the Lightning Release: Black Panther to immobilise and or kill several enemies. According to one of his comrades, he is the only person to have inherited the Third Raikage's technique.[11] In the anime, he could even increase the power and effectiveness of the technique using a shadow clone.[12]

Darui is also proficient with the use of chakra flow with ballistic weapon. His skill with chakra flow is such that he was able to cut through a metal blade with a lightning-enhanced shuriken.[13]

Part II

Five Kage Summit Arc

The Kage's bodyguards on the offensive.

Darui and C were chosen to escort the Fourth Raikage to the Kage Summit in the Land of Iron. Shortly after they had arrived and the meeting began, Darui and C had to rush to the Raikage's defence following his outburst and subsequent destruction of the table he was seated at, standing between the Raikage and the other Kage's bodyguards whom had interpreted this as an aggressive action towards their own respective leaders. Signalled to stand down, they each returned to their posts and things settled down, only to again come to the Raikage's side when White Zetsu appeared later during the meeting. White Zetsu revealed that Sasuke Uchiha, Killer B's captor, was nearby, so Darui and C accompanied the Raikage to track Sasuke down. When the Raikage broke down a wall to leave, Darui emphatically apologised for both it and the table before departing.

When they located Sasuke and his team, Suigetsu immediately charged at C when the battle got underway. Darui however, intercepted his attack and the two men exchanged blows with their respective swords. Darui was ultimately victorious, as he imbued his sword with lightning-natured chakra and pinned Suigetsu to a wall. He then tended to C — who had been knocked unconscious by Sasuke's genjutsu — and they both looked on the Raikage grew increasingly enraged and reckless during his fight with Sasuke. The Sunagakuredelegation soon arrived to provide assistance, and Darui joined forces with them while C healed the Raikage, and bombarded Sasuke with a devastating attack.[14] Using Susanoo, Sasuke survived their assault and destroyed the pillars that supported the building, causing the roof to collapse in on them; Darui was protected from the falling debris by the Fifth Kazekage's sand. With Sasuke's escape and everyone unharmed, Darui and C returned to the Summit hall, where Tobi explained his Eye of the Moon Plan to them. As part of his explanation he revealed that B only pretended to be captured, leading Darui to state that this revelation did not surprise him at all.

After the formation of the Allied Shinobi Forces, Darui joined the Raikage in searching for B. They were drawn to the site of his battle with Kisame Hoshigaki and arrived just in time for Darui to stop Kisame's attempt to cut off B's legs: breaking the Supervibrato Lightning Release Swords with a lightning-infused shuriken. When "Kisame" was eliminated, they all returned to Kumogakure. Despite Darui's desire to rest, Mabui‎ requested a full debriefing of what had happened since they left. Darui later attended a war council meeting convened by the Raikage.

Shinobi World War Arc

Darui severs Kinkaku's arm.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Darui was placed in charge of the First Division of the Allied Shinobi Forces. He and his platoon mobilised alongside the others but soon break off and headed for the coast of the Land of Lightning to defend against an approaching portion of the Akatsuki forces. Before the opposing army made landfall, Darui launched the first attack, using his Lightning Release: Black Panther technique to electrocute dozens of White Zetsu Army clones as they marched through the sea towards land. Darui confronted the reincarnatedGold and Silver Brothers where he apologised to them for needing to defeat them and tarnish their reputations even further. As the battle ensued, he is joined by Samui and Atsui as the two brothers revealed their weapons of choice: the Treasured Tools of the Sage of the Six Paths. During the battle, few White Zetsu clones tried to ambush them, but they are easily defeated by Atsui's attack. Darui tried to stop Atsui before he rushed off to face Kinkaku and Ginkaku and looked on as both Atsui and Samui were hit with the Kōkinjō and had their "word souls" (言霊, kotodama) severed later horrified when Atsui was sucked into the Benihisago and Samui is taken hostage. Apologising to Samui for what he was about to do, he severed Kinkaku's arm and used his Storm Release: Laser Circus attack hitting both Kinkaku and Ginkaku — who are shocked to see that the missiles from the attack were guided. This assault ended somewhat in defeat as Samui is absorbed into the Benihisago and Darui was hit with the Kōkinjō and his word soul severed with the Shichiseiken.

Darui surprises Ginkaku after escaping the gourd.

Having gained a good idea of how the tools worked by watching what happened to Atsui and Samui, Darui knew he could avoid being caught in the Benihisago by not saying his most-said word: "dull" (だるい, darui). However, he inadvertently uttered the word when he admonished the brothers and stated, "Ore wa Bosu no migiude da. Ruijihin janē! (「オレはボスの右腕だ。類似品じゃねェ!」, I'm the Boss' right arm. I'm no imitation!)". As he is sucked in, he started apologising to every-one saying "sorry" (すみません, sumimasen) three times, making that his most-said word and thus stopping the suction. After his escaped, Darui launched an attack immediately with his sword and was able to knock Ginkaku into the Kōkinjō and commandeered both the Shichiseiken and the Benihisago. After looking at his changed most-said word, he realised that he was very apologetic by nature and stated that he'd accept that. He then launched a new tactic and distracted Kinkaku by throwing his sword at him and then followed up with his Laser Circus technique again which buffeted Kinkaku, giving him a chance to sever Ginkaku's word soul with the Shichiseiken.

Darui sealing Ginkaku in the Benihisago.

Ginkaku then said his most used word, "Kinkaku" (キンカク) in pleading for his brother to help him, and got sealed inside the Benihisago. As he began to suffer from the massive chakra drain of the Treasured Tools, Darui witnessed Kinkaku turn into his six-tailed, Version 2 form and rampaged on the battlefield. To stop Kinkaku, headquarters sent Darui the Kohaku no Jōhei and Team 10 to provide support for him. While Shikamaru and Chōji distracted Kinkaku, Ino used her Mind Body Switch Technique to take possession of Kinkaku's body.

Darui then called out to Kinkaku and Ino forces Kinkaku to respond, activating the Kohaku no Jōhei and sucking Kinkaku in.

Darui sealing Kinkaku in the Kohaku no Jōhei.

As Kinkaku was sealed he wondered how he, and his sibling could've been defeated by "copper" pieces, and Darui responded stating that when you have a bunch of copper coins, together they can be worth just as much as a gold coin. With the Kōkinjō getting sealed along with Kinkaku, Darui had no way to use the Benihisago but nevertheless hung onto it, hoping to find a way to free Samui and Atsui. In the meantime, he helped subdue the reincarnated Kakuzu and by nightfall, Kakuzu and the rest of Akatsuki's forces had been dealt with. Before they could claim victory however, Tobi appeared on the battlefield with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. While the statue wreaked havoc, Tobi confronted Darui and tried to take the Benihisago and the Kohaku no Jōhei. Fearing Tobi's intentions, Darui and Shikamaru tried to stop him, only to be attacked by the statue. They are saved by Chōji and Kitsuchi respectively but this allowed Tobi to escape with the tools. With this, they start retreating as night began to fall.

The next morning, Darui and the other shinobi were made to stand apart inside circles until Naruto could arrive on the battlefield and weed out the impostor shinobi which had taken the form of their comrades during the night and was wreaking havoc and confusion on the allied shinobi. Darui later expressed his disbelief that the Raikage had actually agreed to let the jinchūriki out of confinement upon hearing that Naruto was headed to the battlefield. Upon arriving on the battlefield where they were, Darui announced that the remainder of his division had arrived. With this, he and the other members of the Allied Shinobi Forces stood to face their opposition.

Backed up by the medic-nin Sakura, Darui attempted to attack Obito Uchiha with a Storm Release attack but is quickly repulsed by the now fully-matured Ten-Tails who had escaped the hole which it had seemingly been trapped in.

Creation and Conception

With Darui's design, Kishimoto noted that he wanted to immediately convey a sense of sluggishness. His collar is worn upturned for a sense of stylishness, and the two tattoos on his shoulders are there as challenges to his opponents, as well as to signify that he possesses a kekkei genkai.

Trivia

"Darui" (怠い) is Japanese for "sluggish" or "dull", referring to his lazy, languid way of speaking.

A running gag with Darui is that every time A destroys a wall when leaving a room, Darui apologises for A and tries to use the door while C thinks they should just use the hole in the wall too.

Quotes

(To the Gold and Silver Brothers) "It kills me to do this to such great men. Some of that Silver and Gold plating may start to flake off a little when my Storm Release hits you! Even if it's a little dull!"[15]

(To Kinkaku) "It's true that words can be used as tools, to lie and deceive. But when it really counts… (pointing to heart)— they're also the only way to tell the truth about how you feel right here."[17]

(To Kinkaku upon defeating him.) "Silver and gold may shine more brightly than copper, and are more valuable because of it. But if you gather enough copper together, it's worth just as much as that one gold coin. You acted like you were solid gold, but I guess it was all a front… that's why we won! Sorry we had to strip off that gold plating."[18]